1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a portable measuring and dispensing device for containers and particularly relates to a closure device which selectively enables measuring, dispensing and storing edible and non-edible dry materials such as powdered milk, baby cereal, coffee, sugar, salt, washing powders and the like from material containers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The dispensation of granulated and powdered dry materials has inherently characteristic problems to which the present invention is addressed. A need exists for a convenient and inexpensive means for dispensing predetermined quantities of particulate dry food products and non-edible soap products, cleaners, chemicals, and other household ingredients from their containers. Many food products, for example, powdered milk, are commonly supplied in containers with screw-on caps or snap-on cap. In the absence of a measuring and dispensing feature on the cap, the cap must be removed to enable insertion of measuring spoons, scoops, cups or other independent measuring means for removal of the desired quantity from the container. This procedure is inconvenient, unsafe and not hygienic. It is also inconvenient as the continuous opening and closing of the container causes the contents to lose their freshness more rapidly. Also, it requires the use of independent measuring devices which are not always conveniently near, especially when the dispensing procedures take place away from the home. In addition, it is difficult to dispense and/or level off the contents of the scoop or spoon or the like in a precise manner without spilling or otherwise wasting some of the contents especially if the manipulative steps are performed during travel by car or the like. Moreover, such an arrangement does not prevent contamination of the foods. It is practically impossible to keep the measuring and dispensing means free from food residue or user mishandling since this arrangement allows the user to have direct physical contact with the entire content of the container throughout the dispensing process. For example, the very act of removing the scoop or spoon with fingers exposes the remaining content of the container to contamination by bacteria and other airborne particles. Further, a user is not prevented from returning dispensed food or product to the container in such an arrangement, thereby enhancing the possibility of further contamination. Another important disadvantage is that to reach the spoon which is concealed inside the container can be a hazardous procedure. Indeed, a cover of the conventional metal type container used to vacuum pack coffee and other comestibles, must to be removed by an ordinary can opener creating jagged metal edges. More recently, material containers have been used which include tear away portions of the container, and such tear away portions may include both a portion of the side wall of the container and a portion of the top wall of the container. Such containers/cans, once opened, frequently expose sharp edges. Therefore, the very act of removing the measuring and dispensing means from the inside of the container is not only not desirable but dangerous.
All of these problems can be avoided by the use of a cap that has a built-in measuring and dispensing means disposed across the mouth of the container. Such a dispensing cap may be operated by holding the container upside down and operating a dispenser slide or turning a rotor, whereby a quantity fills the cavity in the receiving measuring and dispensing means and is dispensed downward by gravity when the cavity is aligned with an external aperture.
There are several prior art references which are known to the applicant which dispense granular or powder materials, however, none of these adequately meet all of the objectives of the present invention. The large majority of these devices are directed towards storing and dispensing large amounts of materials from stationary containers such as bins.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,767 to Franche VI discloses a dog food dispenser with a sliding gate for regulating the flow of dog food and an extension into its hopper for food agitation. A dog food dish is placed underneath the dispenser and the flow of food is regulated manually. Thus there is potential for dispensing food to overflow from the receiving container as food flows continuously until the sliding gate is manually closed.
It is also known to dispense food materials by means of manually rotatable devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,551,119 to Radek, issued Aug. 25, 1925, describes a dispensing device for sugar or other granular materials. The Radek device is in the form of a cylindrical case having a wheel-shaped structure formed therein with the spokes of the wheel being blades radially extending from a hub portion. As the blades are manually rotated, the granular material within chambers formed between the blades is selectively dispensed through the spout.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,772,377 to Whittle discloses another dispensing device. However, the device has limited utility because it cannot accommodate different containers and has no means to dispense more than one discrete quantity of material from the container.
Also known to the applicant is Orton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,442. Orton discloses a household liquid dispenser which utilizes a spring loaded sliding gate to dispense liquid from a hopper. The hopper has a release hole in the bottom, which is opened and closed by the sliding gate. As an extension from the sliding plate is depressed, a channel within the sliding plate is aligned with the release hole in the bottom of the hopper. Liquid enters the channel and travels downward to a dispensing spout also aligned with the channel at its lower end. This apparatus is only useful for extremely free-flowing materials such as liquid due to its path of dispensation which is partially horizontal. As more liquid is dispensed into the channel, liquid in the dispensation channel is forced onward.
A dispenser that has horizontally mounted shaft provided with spaced-apart blades operating on a shaft spanning a dispenser opening is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,740,562, issued Apr. 3, 1956, to Bello. This patent, however, is not concerned with dispensing a measured volume but with agitating the material being dispensed. Kaanehe, U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,958, discloses a dry product dispenser having a hopper and funnel for dispensation blocked by a spring loaded sliding valve. The valve must be held open manually in order to dispense material. U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,089 to Osfar discloses a powdered and granulated material container having a flat plate valve with a spring attachment.
Other approaches are shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,674,660, issued Jun. 23, 1987, to Botto; 4,071,171, issued Jan. 31, 1978, to Bassignani; 3,130,874, issued Apr. 28, 1964, to Bulmer; 3,018,924, issued Jan. 30, 1962, to Reed; 2,710,118, issued Jun. 7, 1955, to Stoddard; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,463 to Pellegrino issued Feb. 11, 1986 (RE 33,083 Oct. 10, 1989).
To obtain maximum convenience, a dispensing cap for powdered milk and other particulate food products, should provide for delivery of accurately measured amounts directly into a measuring and dispensing means, e.g., spoon or the like, merely by the simple act of sliding a dispenser slide or turning a knob, without requiring any complicated adjustment to the dispenser mechanism for different amounts. Also, such dispenser cap should provide for a measuring and dispensing means disposed on the dispenser cap. Thus, there is a need for a "spoon in the cap" construction which is simple, small and inexpensive and requires little skill to construct or maintain.
To date, no prior art is known that meets all of the objectives of the present invention, that is, to provide a portable dispenser cap for granular or powdered dry materials in a convenient manner, which has the combined features of providing a means for avoiding overflow of the product in the receiving spoon and is cheap to manufacture, due to a simple design and a minimal number of parts. The dispensing cap of the present invention provides such a construction with the added convenience of being adaptable to almost any material from paper to plastic to metal and which provides for ease of manufacture, assembly and maintenance by relatively unskilled persons.